A 5-Point Plan to Get Liverpool Primed for a Top-4 Finish in 2016/17
With 12 games to go in the 2015/16 Premier League season, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool find themselves off the pace in their push for a top-four finish.
The Reds are currently eighth, nine points below fourth-placed Manchester City, leaving Klopp to focus on a Capital One Cup final against the Citizens and two legs of a UEFA Europa League round-of-32 tie against Bundesliga side FC Augsburg kicking off on Thursday night.
Still finding his feet in his new role as Liverpool manager after seven years in charge of Borussia Dortmund, Klopp has rightly approached this season as a litmus test; assessing his squad's capabilities and planning for the next campaign.
When the club's owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner appointed Klopp in October, they told the club's official website that the German was primed to "reignite this football club and take the team forward."
To ensure progress, a top-four finish in 2016/17 is paramount—but how can Klopp do so?
Here is a five-point plan for the 48-year-old, kicking off with the search for a new No. 1 goalkeeper.
Replace Simon Mignolet as First-Choice Goalkeeper
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For many Liverpool supporters, Simon Mignolet has ridden his luck between the sticks for too long, with a series of high-profile errors throughout 2015/16 leading sections of Anfield to call for his replacement.
The Belgian is an affable character and a valuable, intelligent presence in the dressing room, but his performances this season have provided Liverpool with little in terms of stability—despite his record of keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League (16) in 2015, as detailed by B/R's Joe Gallagher.
According to Squawka, Mignolet has made the joint-most defensive errors in the league this season (five), along with team-mate Emre Can and Everton's Gareth Barry.
He has also made the joint-most errors leading directly to a goal in the league this season (three), highlighting his culpability in a campaign fraught with poor defensive work by the Reds' back line.
Assessing the current top four's first-choice goalkeepers—Leicester City's Kasper Schmeichel, Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris, Arsenal's Petr Cech and Manchester City's Joe Hart—each side can rely on a custodian with one major quality that sets him apart from Mignolet: authority.
Without an assured, authoritative presence in goal, Liverpool will continue to struggle for a top-four finish, and therefore, replacing Mignolet will be a priority this summer.
Address Structural Issues in Defence
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While appointing a new No. 1 will contribute to this major tactical deficiency, Klopp has more worries to contend with when it comes to his side's defensive work—largely in Liverpool's poor structural organisation.
Welcoming the signing of Schalke centre-back Joel Matip on Tuesday night, Klopp praised the Cameroon international's quality and potential as a Premier League defender but acknowledged Matip's arrival over the summer would not solve all of his side's problems in defence, via the club's official website:
"I know people are saying our defence isn’t that good. We have to defend better as a team, first of all.
It’s not for solving a problem—it’s a transfer with a really good perspective for the future, a long-term thing.
But he can help immediately and that’s really good for us.
"
In recognising the need to "defend better as a team," the 48-year-old hit on Liverpool's biggest issue in 2015/16, and arguably one impossible to confront until the end of the season.
The Reds have conceded more goals (36) than any other team in the Premier League's top half so far this season, with their inability to defend set pieces the most concerning issue for Klopp ahead of 2016/17.
This is something that must be addressed on the training field, and the addition of a strong, aggressive defender like Matip can aid this. The onus is now on his soon-to-be team-mates.
Continue Smart, Sensible Recruitment
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Matip will join up with Liverpool at the end of the season, allowing the 24-year-old a pre-season adjustment period to settle into his surroundings, adapt to Klopp's tactical demands and jell with his new team-mates both on and off the pitch.
Finding himself in the same position is 19-year-old Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic, who signed for the Reds in a deal worth £5.1 million back in January but was subsequently loaned back to former club Red Star Belgrade.
Both Matip and Grujic will be invaluable additions to Klopp's first team, with their power and finesse well-suited to the German's defence and midfield, respectively, and they represent high-value, low-risk signings for Henry and Werner.
Continuing to asses Matip's merits with reporters, including the Guardian's Andy Hunter, Klopp acknowledged that value is a rarity in English football: "I know in England it is really difficult to sign a player without paying a transfer fee, but I thought it cannot be a reason not to take him only because you cannot put a number behind his name."
Klopp is clearly looking to buck Liverpool's worrying trend of overpaying in the transfer market—with last summer's signing of £32.5 million striker Christian Benteke a prime example—and as he further reinforces his squad ahead of a top-four push in 2016/17, he must continue with this approach.
Add Support in Attack
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While the signings of Matip and Grujic highlight the need for Liverpool to reinforce this summer, as Klopp continued to address reporters on Tuesday, he hinted that he would not prompt a major personnel overhaul ahead of 2016/17.
However, the former Dortmund manager pointed to one key area that he was looking to improve: the flanks of his attacking line.
"I don’t believe in the number of transfers, but we have to make solutions, and we will make solutions. Seven sounds really a lot," he said, referencing last summer's seven-strong intake, including the likes of Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne.
"We have enough strikers—five with Roberto—but not too many wingers, just a few young ones with great potential."
Jordon Ibe currently stands as the only orthodox winger in Klopp's first team, while Sheyi Ojo and Ryan Kent have both been utilised in the FA Cup this season, and Lazar Markovic is set to return to the club from his season-long loan with Fenerbahce at the end of 2015/16.
While Firmino and Philippe Coutinho represent strong, first-choice options in Liverpool's forward line, Klopp requires another top-quality addition for his favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.
Though he suffered disappointment in his pursuit of Alex Teixeira this winter, doing so could see him complete a formidable attacking unit primed for a top-four finish.
Manage Daniel Sturridge's Fitness
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Sunday's 6-0 win away to Aston Villa was the first opportunity to see Klopp's three most effective forwards operating alongside each other, with the return of Daniel Sturridge providing the Brazilian tandem of Coutinho and Firmino with an invaluable attacking pivot.
While Klopp saw six different players beat goalkeeper Mark Bunn that afternoon, the fluent performance of Coutinho, Firmino and Sturridge hinted at a bright future for Liverpool.
One major issue threatens to dampen this optimism, however: Sturridge's long-term fitness issues.
The 26-year-old has spent much of the past two campaigns on the sidelines, making only a handful of appearances under Klopp so far as the manager takes a patient approach to his recovery.
Returning sharp and focussed, this looks set to have benefited Sturridge greatly.
To avoid further disappointment when it comes to his only top-level striker in 2016/17, Klopp must continue to manage Sturridge's fitness—as the England international's goals are Liverpool's most likely route to the top four.
